Loki's Gift
by rockangel160
Summary: Elsa was born with her powers, but how? Did a certain Trickster god have something to do with it? As Loki struggles with his own nature as a frost giant, he takes advantage of a golden opportunity to discover how well ice can do on a throne.
1. Chapter 1

A child of ice, cold in manner as to the touch. Loki's true nature burdened his very being like stones pressing down on his shoulders. He kept had kept himself isolated in his room for several days, skimming through an extensive collection of books on myths, legends and histories from the other worlds, even Midgard. How many people knew what he was before he discovered it himself? Was it only a matter of time before everyone discovered that Loki was no Asgardian, but a frost giant? He actually didn't care if everyone knew now, that he could get over easily. However, his true concern was where his place in line to the throne had actually been all these years. Could he have ever truly been King, or would the opportunity been snatched away at the last second? If it was a secret that only he discovered, disposing of Odin would mean taking the secret to his grave, oh, but that could never work. His mother Frigga must have also known the truth, and he could never harm her. Besides, even if he was a true Asgardian, that wouldn't have stopped Thor from being his older brother and therefore the heir to the throne. Now he had to ask himself, if the heir to a kingdom were discovered to be a frost giant, what would their fate be?

Loki's train of thought was derailed by the muffled ruckus of an elaborate feast from the dining hall. He quietly scoffed at the disturbance and attempted to return to his contemplation, but the incessant roars and laughter became louder than his own thoughts. He gave a low groan and slammed his book shut so hard it clapped as his eyes rolled over to the door. He finally emerged from his room, with his forest-colored velvet robe dragging along the floor as he marched to the balcony over the dining hall. He kept himself tucked in the corner so that he was out of sight but could eavesdrop on all the Asgardians. Next to the grand feast of assorted dishes and delicacies was a large stack of what appeared to be loot from Midgard. From the chatter of the crowd, he realized that the gifts were offerings left at the temples of a Midgardian kingdom.

"Such a generous King and Queen, I assume they expect we will return the favor."

"What is it that the Kingdom of Arendelle wants? Victory in battle?"

"The Queen is with child, and this child will be the heir to the throne. "

Loki's head snapped with interest.

"They ask for what every good ruler should have: strength, courage, fortitude, and the sort."

"Might as well add beauty and talent in there as well, it wouldn't hurt."

Loki zoomed back to his room to dress himself properly for an outing. A new baby was always a fun occasion. If this Midgardian kingdom wanted a proper ruler, surely they would want one with cunning and cleverness. That was his reputation among the nine worlds and he was proud of it. He traded his robe for his winter tunic and cape with the fur trim, and fixed his hair while he was at it. He loved to make an impression when visiting humans.

When he approached Heimdall and told him he wanted to visit his temple in Arendelle, he asked him, "Can you see the child inside the mother's womb?"

Heimdall nodded, "I can, but why do you find this important?"

"I just want to know if it's a boy or a girl, that's all." Loki smiled innocently.

"The child is a girl, and a healthy one, she is," Heimdall responded.

"Oh, well then she's bound to be gorgeous." Loki's voice had a hint of veneration, and he kept that same smile as he was transported across the Bifrost.

Unfortunately, Loki had only set himself up for disappointment. As he approached his temple, he felt like he was walking into a graveyard. The display was as bleak as the grey soil beneath his feet. The only sound that echoed through the stone pillars as that of his slow footsteps. There was nothing there, no people, no offerings, not even a wandering animal. He walked up the statue of himself placed in the center of the open veranda and found a dust-coated cauldron that hadn't been used in years. He sat under the statue, which itself was weathered and chipped, and sighed. Here he thought he had gotten his mind off of being a frost giant, if only for a brief moment, but sitting alone in the snow-covered mountains made him feel like he was in Jotunheim.

Still, the trip didn't have to be a total waste. After all, the Queen of this kingdom was still having a healthy baby princess, so that was something worth celebrating. He ought to give the lucky family a gift, even if they had not given him one. Suddenly, he got a brilliant idea for the perfect gift for the crown princess. This would knock two birds with one stone. He'd be offering the kingdom of Arendelle his congratulations for their blessing, but he would also be able to conduct a nice little experiment.

Luckily, the ingredients needed for this special potion could be found close to his current location, so he simply needed to hunt and harvest them for the next couple of hours and add them to the cauldron. He chuckled to himself as he stirred the boiling concoction and told himself how much he'd really outdone himself this time. When it came time to add the final ingredient, he patted himself down as he looked for his dagger. Ah, it was strapped to his thigh; he had to stop forgetting that he kept it there. Holding in his breath, he squeezed the blade with his bare hand until it sliced his palm open. He hissed and instinctively brought his hand to his mouth to lick the wound. The blood trickled down arm in spurts. He held his hand over the cauldron, and as the drops of the frost giant's blood hit the surface, the whole liquid turned purple like dusk.

The vial bounced around his neck as he strolled through the empty streets of the city. It was far too early for any of the humans to have woken up, except for the guards in front of the palace. Getting them out of the way took the easiest trick in the book. A simple illusion running past them sent them chasing after the phantom image and left him free to scale up the tallest tower of the castle, which must have been where the king and queen slept.

As he stood over the sleeping queen, he admired her full stomach. Inside was a baby girl who would be queen herself one day. She was going to be very special; Loki would make sure of that. She would help him run a little test. The girl would be born of ice, just like him. She would be a stunning enchantress with the power to make ice and snow appear from nothing. _Let's see how her kingdom responds to their beloved queen's special nature._ If they accepted her, then maybe Loki's troubles began with when he was born, second, instead of what he was born as, a monster. If they rejected her, well then that meant being a monster really was hopeless.

He could have just opened the queen's lips and poured the drink directly into her mouth, but that was nearly as much fun as his way. He poured the contents into his own mouth, held the queen's chin gently, and spilled the potion in her mouth through a mischievous kiss. He managed to slip out just before the queen sat up and fell into a coughing fit after swallowing.


	2. Chapter 2- The First

Loki gnashed his teeth behind pressed lips as he watched the chubby baby princess chew on her blue silk blanket with the royal insignia on it. Blast it all! Two years had gone by and the child had not made even one snowflake, she had just had a few colds now and again. Maybe he hadn't used enough blood. He paced in circles on the balcony outside the servant's quarters. It was possible that Princess Elsa (a fitting name for a future queen, it sounded charming yet deadly in his opinion) had done something of interest to him while she was locked away in her room, but there was little chance of him sneaking past the security to her room now, even if he took the form of one of her guards. They could not be distracted or compromised. Security to the princess's chamber had been exponentially tightened after an incident with the king's sister in another kingdom. Her poor child had been taken before her very eyes. Well, that was just poor form. You don't just take a child when the parents are there, especially if you have no intention to leave a changeling in its place! Humph, amateurs.

He looked up to see the clouds greying and thickening, leaving a dreary overcast on the browning trees. The wind whispered as it shook the branches and formed ripples in the calm fjord below him. The waters were cold enough to make hands turn red, but not quite enough to freeze. There was no rush though since winter was just beginning. Soon, this entire land would be an icy paradise.

Maybe he was being too impatient with the girl. After all, this was the first time he'd tried anything like this; he wasn't sure how long it would take for her ice powers to blossom, if they ever would. He was already disappointed once when he witnessed her birth and her skin was not blue nor her eyes red. She did have hair that was so blindingly blonde it could pass for white, especially against her pink skin and light blue eyes. So far everyone adored her, which was a great way to start. If she was unpopular to begin with, he wouldn't be able to tell if they didn't like her because of the ice powers, or if she just wasn't charming enough.

As he was pondering to himself, he heard a sneeze and then a shocked scream from inside. He peered into the window to find the nanny kneeling on the ground, covering her face as if it had been struck. The princess sat on the bed, sniffling as a short sharp icicle dangled from her nose. The nanny rubbed the thin film of ice from her face and stared at the baby princess in horror and disbelief, to which she smiled back, giggling and sticking her fingers in her mouth. The tubby older woman dashed out, screaming her way down to the king and queen's room.

Loki was so proud, he almost wanted to cry. Phase one was a success! While the foolish nurse had left Elsa unattended, he slipped through the locked French doors and kneeled down before the princess.

"My lady." He carefully pulled the toddler's thumb from her mouth and kissed soft hand as she gazed at him with widened eyes, not out of fear, but curiosity. He gently wiped the icicle from her nose, and wiped the trickles of ice off of her face.

"Mmm…!" Elsa whined and pulled away, for she didn't like being handled so much by strangers.

"Oh, forgive me, where are my manners? I should know better than to lay my hand on the princess..." He bowed before her, "…but that was quite the mess you made on your face. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Loki, of Asgard."

Elsa had already gotten used to strangers, especially since she seemed to be introduced to a new duke or prince every few weeks. She wasn't required to do much, just behave and not cause a fuss, and not to say a word. She thought he was just another royal her parents wanted her to meet, just like all the times before.

"You are very special, your highness. You can do things that other humans cannot. Now, you're going to be the Queen one day, just like your beautiful mother." He leaned his elbows down on the bed to face her directly, "Now I don't know if you can understand what I'm saying, but if you can, then you should hear it."

He held up the small spike of ice that she made, "This was not an accident. I made you this way. This was my design, so I want you to use it. I want you to use this power as often as you can. You'll get better with practice, and I want to see how much you can do."

As the clopping of boots grew louder in the distance, Loki tucked the icicle into his pocket as a sample and escaped from the castle grounds. Looks like his patience had paid off after all. He cupped the souvenir in his hands; it wasn't much, but it was an excellent start. Now that he knew that the potion had worked, he would make sure to visit more often.


	3. Chapter 3- The Second

He had his nose pressed on the window as he watched the doctors poke and prod the sweet little toddler. His heart sank when her eyes started to well up and she sniffled due to the invasion of her private bubble. How dare those inexperienced quacks lay their disease-ridden fingers on the princess! They crowded around her like pack dogs around a cut of fresh meat. They checked her vitals, took samples of hair, blood, even pee! She wasn't even ill, but they handled her like she was carrying a plague. It was somewhat disappointing; all she could do was sneeze out some harmless ice chunks every now and then, and people were already starting to turn on her. Sure, it was only the doctors now, who spent hours trying to discover the source of her ability and snuff it out, but one day it may be her subjects, or even her own parents.

It hadn't even been two months since Princess Elsa had her crowning ice incident, and the Queen was already pregnant again. She didn't know it yet, but Loki knew a pregnant woman when he saw one. He refused to call it a coincidence that they were expecting another child so soon after discovering the first one was a little out of the ordinary.

Eventually, all the doctors gave up inspecting her, and just decided that unless something dangerous happened, it was out of their hands. Princess Elsa was still very fussy after that disaster, but after the servants tried to sooth her, they could only get her down to quiet sniffling. He tried to make funny faces at her when she looked at the window, but he wasn't sure if she noticed. He would phase right through that door and take the form of one of her guards, but this security staff was so tricky. Such a close circle can see the little ticks between an imposter and the real thing.

Her nannies decided that she should get some fresh air outside for a while, so they bundled her up and let her play in the snow. Loki sat on the rooftop with his elbows on his knees and his fists pressed against his face and smiled as he watched the toddler return to her element. It cheered her up almost immediately. She rolled around in it and made tiny snow angels. When given her space, she was as lively as a spring duckling.

He looked down at his hands and imagined the blood pulsing through them. She was going to be a big sister soon. If her parents thought they could try again for a normal child, well they could just think again. If he gave the Queen another kiss, then Elsa wouldn't be alone. They could both be children of ice. And if he did the same to every child of the Queen, then the doctors would prod _her_ instead of her poor children! He could make a whole dynasty of Ice Queens and Kings if he wanted to, and they would be so powerful that no one would even think of touching them!

After a deep breath, he reminded himself of why he gave her the powers in the first place. She was the rightful heir, but he needed if the crown would be stolen from her because she was different. He had to be sure that people knew she was special, the only Ice Queen that they would ever be blessed with. Also, she wouldn't have to be alone, because he was always going to be there for her.


End file.
